Is The Capital One Venture X Really So Much Better?

Capital One announced that it would be launching its first-ever premium card. It flaunted many exciting benefits available to frequent travelers. Such perks are bound to attract new cardholders to take advantage of all the card offers. However, any prudent shopper must consider offerings by other service providers before settling on a particular one. For this reason, before you rush off to sign up for your new account, let’s tell you a little bit more about what the credit card offers to help you decide if it is much better than its competitors.

Annual Fees

Capital One Venture X charges a $395 annual fee. As Thrifty Traveler explains, you will have to pay the fee upfront to hold the card each year. This yearly charge might put you off when compared to the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card, whose annual fee is $95. However, before disregarding it, you should compare the annual charges with the value you will be getting in return and see if it is worth it or not. Besides, when you look at the American Express Platinum Card’s annual fee of $695, you have to admit that Capital One Venture X offers a much better deal. Still, if after assessing the benefits you discover they are worth much less than the $395, then this is not the card for you.

Welcome Offer

This credit card welcomes new cardholders by offering 100,000 bonus miles but only if you spend $10,000 within the first six months of opening your account. The 100,000 bonus miles are equivalent to $1,000 in travel. Also, they have a limited-time offer that has new cardholders receiving up to $200 back in statement credits. The credits are for vacation rentals and are charged to your account within the first year. Forbes does a quick calculation and explains that since the $10,000 may be deterrent to prospective cardholders due to the limited spending period of six months, you can choose to be spending at least $1,700 to qualify. When you compare to the $4,000 you have to spend within three months to qualify for the 50,000 bonus points from Chase Sapphire Reserve, you will realize that Capital One Venture X is worth it.

Credit Score Rating Required

For you to qualify for a Capital One Venture X credit card, your credit score must be stellar. While Capital One Venture might accept fair credit scores of 670, this premium card requires a much higher score. According to Bankrate, Capital One recommends excellent credit scores ranging between 800 and 850. This requirement is no different from other credit cards that demand excellent credit scores. Therefore, before disregarding Capital One Venture X, you have to look at other features that set it apart from the rest.

Foreign Transaction Fees

Of course, once you get your credit card and earn your travel benefits, the next thing you will be doing is exploring the world. The great thing about the Capital One Venture X card is that even when you are outside the United States, you will not be charged any foreign transaction fees. A foreign transaction fee is charged to your credit card bill when you purchase a foreign bank or in a currency other than the US dollar. It comprises a currency conversion fee and an issuing bank fee. In this regard, that Capital One venture X is much better than Visa and MasterCard, which usually charge a currency conversion transaction fee of 1%.

Intro APR

APR (annual percentage rate) is among the many things you must look out for when applying for a new credit card. APR refers to the interest rate that applies to your card if you do not pay off the balance at the end of each month. Therefore, 0% intro purchase APR implies that you will not pay interest on purchases for a period determined by the card issuer. A 0% intro APR on balance transfers means that any new purchases on your credit card will not be charged interest even if you do not pay off your balance in full at the end of each month; it is also for a limited period. Unfortunately, Capital One Venture X does not have an intro APR applicable to purchases or balance transfers. Compared to Capital One Venture Rewards with a 0% intro APR for 15 months, Capital One Venture X might not be attractive to cardholders who have a history of defaulting payments. However, you can view the lack of intro APR as a means of enticing you to pay your debts on time to avoid incurring interest. As for the regular APR, the card offers 16.99% – 23.99% variable APR.

Rewards

The ideal way to ensure you get the most travel benefits is by booking through the Capital One travel portal. It offers 5 points for every dollar you spend on bookings through the Capital One travel portal. You earn 10 points for each dollar you spend in prepaid hotels and car rentals. The best thing about the miles earned is that they do not expire for the entire life of your account. You can also transfer your miles to your travel partners. You are not limited to redeeming the miles for travel purchases. The redemption rate when transferring to travel partners starts at 1 cent per mile to 2.36 cents per mile. This rate is low considering that Chase Sapphire Reserve offers much higher value, the transfer to travel partners can yield as much as 4 cents per point. For travel purchases made in the past 90 days, you can transfer the miles at 1 cent for each mile. If you prefer redeeming for anything other than travel purchases, perhaps PayPal purchases or gift cards, the value of the miles will be much less.